


Auntie Pidge

by lanawrites94



Series: Plance AU Week 2018 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU - learning institution, Aunt Pidge, F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plance AU Week 2018, Plance AU Week 2K18, Reference to Past Emotional Abuse, complicated family relationships, elementary school teacher, reference to past unplanned pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-04-23 03:18:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14323398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanawrites94/pseuds/lanawrites94
Summary: Day 1: Learning Institution“Monkey, you’re not supposed to run in…side.” She paused when she caught sight of Mr. Mickey’s face. He was a gorgeous man of Cuban descent, and obnoxiously tall. “Uh…hi.” She offered her hand. “Katie Holt.”His hand absolutely swallowed hers when he shook, the way her hand ate Hinata’s.“Lance McClain. What can I do for you lovely ladies?”Pidge.exe has stopped working.





	1. Mr. Mickey

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, all! This is my first time participating in a Plance event (or any fandom event, to be quite honest), and I'm really excited. I have a piece for all eight days, some will be multi-chaptered, some I have ideas to continue if there's enough interest, some are just one-shots. All of us participating in the event have been working really hard, and I hope you enjoy the fruits of our labors!
> 
> (Also, I'm really bad at tagging. If you see something I should have tagged, please let me know. This story will not be beta-read, as my beta-reader/baby brother is not comfortable with all of the details surrounding this AU. To clarify, there is no rape. I would have tagged that, but I will later reference an emotionally abusive relationship that featured coercion.)

Katarina ‘Pidge’ Holt led a busy life, but she wouldn’t change it for the world. At twenty-five she was working on her second doctorate (which shocked even her parents) so as to make herself the most valuable operative the Galaxy Garrison had ever had. Her brother-in-law, Takeshi Shirogane, had often joked that she was trying to single-handedly replace the whole of team Shiro-Holt. While she was a fine pilot in her own right, she knew she’d be the _most_ valuable as a science officer. Being confident as a pilot and engineer simply made her a coveted team member.

But on top of that, she didn’t really want to be on the same team as any of her family members and could only see herself doing it on account of one person: her…niece, Hinata. She loved the little girl, and she wasn’t particularly fond of the way both Shiro and Matt had to leave her behind every time their team was deployed. Having so much girl time was nice, with just Pidge, Colleen, and Hinata, and Takeshi’s mother whenever she visited from Japan, but Hina needed more time with her daddies and less time with her…auntie.

She became especially concerned about the arrangement when Hinata was in the first grade. She’d run to the car after school one Friday, launched herself inside, and attached herself to Pidge.

“Auntie Pidge, why don’t I have a mommy?”

She’d almost burst and told her right then and there.

“Well, monkey, you don’t have a mommy because you have two daddies.”

“Yeah, and I love Daddy and Papa, but Tina said if I don’t have a mommy it means I’m adopted!”

“You’re not adopted, sweetheart,” Pidge said, ready to get this Tina girl grounded if she ever had the chance. “Both of your daddies were there the day you were born. You’ve seen the pictures.”

“But Tina said two daddies can’t have a baby.”

Katie was at a loss for how to explain _that_ one and pulled out of the line to leave and into a parking place. “Come on, Monkey. Can you take me to your classroom?”

“Uh…okay?”

Pidge walked in the building, pulled along by her niece.

“What’s your teacher’s name?”

“He lets us call him Mr. Mickey.”

“Mr… Mickey?”

Hinata let go of Pidge’s hand and went running for a man who was locking his classroom door.

“Mr. Mickey! Mr. Mickey!”

“Hinata?” he asked turning to look at her, keys still hanging from the door. “I thought you went home. You’re not supposed to be in here.”

“My auntie wanted to see the classroom.” She pointed to Pidge, who was walking quickly down the hall.

“Monkey, you’re not supposed to run in…side.” She paused when she caught sight of Mr. Mickey’s face. He was a _gorgeous_ man of Cuban descent, and obnoxiously tall. “Uh…hi.” She offered her hand. “Katie Holt.”

His hand absolutely swallowed hers when he shook, the way her hand ate Hinata’s.

“Lance McClain. What can I do for you lovely ladies?”

 _Pidge.exe has stopped working_.

His smile was blindingly charming and she forgot for a moment why she’d come.

“Aunt Pidge? Are you okay?”

Pidge blinked rapidly and shook her head, cursing her blush. “Yeah, Monkey.” She realized she was still caught in Mr. McClain’s firm handshake and retracted her fingers before she could start sweating or go blue screen. “Hina, I need to talk to Mr. Mickey for a minute. Why don’t you run use the restroom right quick? It’s a long drive to Grandma’s.”

“Okay!” Hinata skipped off the way they’d come.

“Is there a problem, Miss Holt?” he asked when Hinata was out of earshot, thankfully taking the hint.

“Yes… if possible, I need contact information for the parents of a Tina in your class? She’s evidently been encouraging my niece to ask questions that I don’t think my brother or his husband are ready to answer, _especially_ considering they’re currently on the space station.”

“Oh…dear. I guess they haven’t had the ‘adoption’ conversation yet?”

“That’s the thing. She isn’t adopted… It’s really complicated. She was asking me about her mother, and…she’s not going to understand that answer.”

He caught sight of her eyes and then glanced the way Hinata had gone. “I see. I can’t actually give you that phone number, but if you can give me a minute I can call and let you speak to them, or get permission to give you their number…”

“I’d appreciate that.”

He reopened his classroom and stepped inside, motioning for Pidge to follow. She studied the classroom as he dialed a number on the school-issued phone. It was fairly standard for a first-grade classroom. The number-line ran along the top of the dry-erase board, and everything was awash in primary colors. Though Mr. McClain tended to lean towards blue wherever he could.

“Hello, this is Mr. McClain, Tina’s teacher. I have a guardian for one of Tina’s classmates who has asked to speak with you. If you could call me back on my personal—”

Pidge sighed and wandered back to the door. She wasn’t sure what she would’ve said even if they had answered.

_Hey, explain to your kid that not every family is the same and that being different isn’t inherently a bad thing._

Yeah, that would go over well.

“Auntie Pidge!”

Pidge poked her head out the door to see Hinata running back down the hall. She stepped out, caught the little girl under the arms, and swung her around in a circle before settling her on her hip. “What have I told you about running inside?”

“Don’t do it.”

“That’s right. Now don’t make me tell Uncle Hunk no dessert.”

The little girl pouted as Pidge let her slide down to the ground and then made a show of walking in circles at an acceptable pace.

“She doesn’t get a lot of air when you do that, does she?” Mr. McClain said. Pidge could _hear_ his smirk.

“Please don’t say that where she can hear you. She thinks the rest of the family is just made up of giants, and I’d like to not get short jokes from her for as long as I can.”

“Sure thing.”

“Uh…so, thanks for trying,” Pidge said, glancing at him over her shoulder. “Matt and Takeshi are supposed to call tonight. Maybe I can get a minute to talk to them about this, see what they think.”

“That may be a good idea,” he agreed. “But….can I have your number? Either to update you when they call me back, or to pass it on to them?” He was already offering a pad of sticky notes and a pencil. He seemed a little flushed, but that had to be the fluorescent lighting.

She held her hand out and smiled. “Sure.” She wrote her number in large, careful characters, conscious of every comment she’d ever gotten about illegibility, and before she could overthink it added her whole name.

Katarina ‘Pidge’ Holt.

Mr. McClain took it gratefully and glanced down at her still untidy scrawl. “Do you prefer Pidge or Katarina?”

“Well, to them, I’d better be ‘Dr. Holt,’ but _you_ can call me Pidge. If you want to…”

His flush got a little deeper, but Pidge was still sure it was more to do with the overhead lighting than her. Or she was seeing things. That was also a possibility.

“Well, we should go,” she said, looking away to hide her own flush that was definitely real. “My mom is expecting us for dinner. And Iverson—er… _Commander_ Iverson—is supposed to be there. Something about _another_ cocktail party. I think the man is having a midlife crisis—Oh, God. Don’t tell anyone I said that. He hasn’t assigned me to a team yet!”

Lance laughed. “My lips are sealed.”

“Unless he asks!” Hinata interjected, grinning wide as she slipped her hand into Pidge’s.

“Unless he asks,” she affirmed to her niece. To Lance she said, “We, uh, don’t want Hinata to learn to keep secrets. Surprises are fine, and it’s okay to have information you don’t _volunteer_ , but…well, I’m sure you get the idea. So I guess I’ll see you around?” she asked as she turned and led the way back to her car.

“Yeah. Definitely. Drive safe.”

Pidge smiled at him over her shoulder as she and Hinata neared the door. “Always.”

* * *

Lance groaned as the apartment door swung shut behind him. Before his roommate could say squat he had crossed the room and flopped onto the whole couch, roommate and all.  


“Whoa!” Keith said, knocking his laptop out of the way just in time. “You know, you have the credentials to teach high school if the first graders are _that_ bad.”

Lance didn’t even lift his face from the second-hand couch cushion to respond. Luckily, Keith had a lot of practice understanding him like that. “I _love_ my first-graders and high schoolers are the devil. You know this. It’s not them.”

“Then get off me and tell me what’s wrong? Unless you don’t want to talk, in which case get off me so that you can go mope somewhere else.”

Lance snorted. “Some best friend you are.”

“Hey, it was an _economic_ decision for us to room together. _I_ never said we were going to be BFF’s.” It was an old joke. They both knew that’s what they’d become. “Make your choice. Three. Two.”

“I met the most amazing woman today because one of my students was harassing her niece, also my student, over having two dads and no mom.”

“Oh. Well how did you handle it? And you still have to get off me.”

Lance shifted to lay on his side and drew up his really long legs. His tush was still a little closer than Keith would’ve liked, given they were _just_ friends, never mind he’d had a crush on his roommate once upon a time, but he decided to take the win.

“I called the other girl’s parents and got voicemail. Left a message.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem? It sounds like you handled her problem respectfully and professionally. If you want to tell her that you have a bi roommate so she won’t think you’re prejudiced, by all means be my guest.”

“I think she has somebody. She said something to her niece about an ‘Uncle Hunk’ and no dessert.”

“Wait. Hunk? What did she look like?”

“Huh?”

“What’s the aunt look like?”

“Uh. Incredibly short, really long hair—it’s kinda red but kinda brown and blond? She’s got a really cute face…”

“What’s her name?”

“She said I could call her Pidge.”

“Dude. Remember all those times I tried to get you to come to those stupid Garrison parties that Iverson throws? It was so you could meet her.”

“Oh. Past-Lance is an idiot. We both know this. How do you know her?”

“Uh, through the Garrison? Remember that over-accomplished prodigy I told you about who came out of nowhere? I used to complain about her when I was dual enrolled?”

“That’s her?”

“That’s her.”

“And ‘Uncle Hunk’?”

“Her best friend of at least ten years. Engineer at the Garrison. Happily engaged to a woman named Shay who works in administration. She’s really sweet. Makes the best potato soup, but she won’t tell me what else is in it, says it’s better if I don’t know.”

“Oh… Do you know what she meant when she said Hinata isn’t adopted?”

“Not a clue.”

“They have the same eyes.”

“She could have donated an egg or something when Matt and Takeshi decided they wanted a kid.”

“Oh. My. God.”

“What?”

“Hinata Holt-Shirogane. Her dads are on the space station. _How_ did I not make that connection!?”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you more shocked that her brother is married to a famous astronaut than the fact that your hero is married to a man?”

Lance shrugged. “That’s between Shiro and his husband. Wait. You know Shiro, too? And his husband? What else have you been holding out on me?!”

“There are _great_ cookies at those annoying parties… And he tends to hold them at the Holt house, since the most famous team consists of Samuel Holt, Matthew Holt-Shirogane, and Shiro. And there’s usually some kind of impromptu performance from the cutest little six-year-old I’ve ever seen.”

“Did you know I was teaching Shiro’s daughter?”

“ _That_ , I didn’t know.”

“When did you say the next one of these little parties is?”

Keith sighed. “Tomorrow. They’re announcing the crew for the Rover-Retrieval mission. I’m not sure why he can’t make those sorts of announcements at the weekly meetings like a _normal_ branch of the military. I think he’s having a midlife crisis and trying to stay relevant or something.” Lance snorted. “What’s so funny?”

“Pidge said basically the same thing.”

“Told you she’s smart.”

“So how _well_ do you know her, anyway?”

“Ugh. Really, Lance? Not very well. Just thought you two would get along since you’re a similar kind of annoying. We were rivals in the simulator and it sucked because she beat me all the time. It was really embarrassing because her _concentration_ was in communications!”

“That’s what you meant by overachieving.”

“Yup.”


	2. Party

“Sleep well, Hina,” Takeshi said, smiling into the webcam.

“We love you, baby girl!” Matt chirped.

Sam waved goodbye to his granddaughter and ended the call, his face falling when the connection was broken.

The sudden tension in the cramped spacecraft could have been cut with a knife.

“What are we going to do?” Matt asked, wide eyes flicking between his husband and his father. “I knew public school was a bad idea!”

Takeshi sighed and rolled a shoulder. “I don’t think public school is the problem here, love.”

Matt huffed and whined “I know,” head in his hands. “Dad? Care to weigh in?”

Sam let himself drift up in the zero-gravity and pushed toward what passed as their kitchenette.

“I tried to weigh in six years ago, son. My opinion hasn’t changed and won’t help the situation now. I don’t know if _anything_ can fix this.”

Matt slumped against Takeshi, and he caught his anime prince on reflex, lost in thought as he was. Objectively, he’d agreed with Sam before, but Matt had been so taken with the idea of their raising a child together. He’d wanted it too, and he’d convinced himself that the short-term pros had outweighed the long-term cons. He had no idea now whether or not they’d done the right thing, accepting the deal, but he couldn’t help but think Past Shiro was an idiot. At least his father-in-law had never been the kind of man to say I told you so.

“We’ll figure something out,” Matt murmured, trying to assure himself.

Takeshi rubbed his husband’s arm and squeezed him close. “We always do.”

 

* * *

Pidge hated Iverson’s parties. She liked her coworkers from the Garrison, sure, but she wanted to socialize with them on her own terms, not because of a party where attendance was ~~required~~ “highly recommended”. On the bright side, these parties being hosted in her parents’ home meant she could drink the champagne and not worry about getting home safely.

She was making rounds as junior hostess when the door opened yet again. She was checking to make sure no one needed anything, restocking the horderves, the usual, and she waved when Keith came in the door followed by…Mr. McClain. Pidge nearly dropped her bucket of ice when she saw the two of them come in together, and she was glad she hadn’t actually let herself believe she’d flustered him the previous day. He and Major Kogane looked good together, and even from across the room she could feel the easy atmosphere between them. She could only imagine how nauseatingly sweet it would be if they were actually holding hands.

They were scanning the crowd from their spot by the door, heads close together, and then Keith pointed her way and Mr. McClain waved. She panicked and retreated into the kitchen when the two men started wading their way toward her through the crowd. They could still see her, though. Curse her mother’s gorgeous open floor plan.

Her mother glanced up from arranging raw cookie dough and smiled. “Katarina, dear, are you alright? You’re sweating.”

“Lots of people,” Pidge deflected, stepping to the sink to wash her hands. “Having fun, Monkey?” She hoped that if she looked busy the newcomers would leave her alone.

Hina was perched on a stool next to her grandmother with a spoon, a jar of peanut butter, and a grin that could melt a glacier. “Yass!” she said, sucking the peanut butter from between her teeth.

Pidge smirked as she took Hina’s half-clean spoon and popped it in her own mouth before she dropped it in the sink. “I think that’s enough sugar for you. We can’t stay up all night or going back to school Monday is going to suck.”

Hina pouted but screwed the lid back on the jar and passed it over before she beamed. “Can I have some more tomorrow, Grandma?”

“Of course you can, angel,” Pidge’s mother said.

 Pidge reached for the bowl of cookie dough and a spoon, preparing to help scoop it out and arrange more soon-to-be cookies on the tray just as Hinata jumped down and ran around the island. “Mr. Mickey!” she squealed. Pidge looked over her shoulder just in time to see the girl collide with her teacher. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Hey, Hinata. Have you been doing your homework?”

“Nope!” She let go and ran off into the crowd.

“S’up, Kogane?” Pidge asked, half turning to wave the dough-covered spoon at him.

“Nothing much, Holt,” he said, smirking. “Just finally got my roommate out of the house. Can you believe he usually spends his Saturday nights grading?”

“Have you _seen_ a first-grader’s handwriting?” Mr. McClain asked incredulously at the same time as Pidge said, “Yeah, I believe it.”

Keith just continued smirking.

“Katie,” her mom said. “Why don’t you go hang out with your friends? I’m fine in here. This is the last batch.”

“Are you sure—”

“Yes, I’m sure, Katarina Dianne Holt. _Go!_ ”

Keith was snorting behind his hand when he stepped out of Pidge’s way. She decided she’d get him back later.

They found a relatively quiet corner and sat, Pidge repeatedly smoothing her cocktail dress over her knees, staring at the fabric and counting the sparkles that would mirror the night sky if not for the light pollution.

She cleared her throat. “So, uh…Mr. McClain? Did you hear back from that girl’s parents?”

“Yeah. They called me back this afternoon. I was going to give you an update, but I was at the grocery store when they called and kind of forgot. But we can talk about it later if—”

“You can say whatever in front of Keith. I don’t care. He was Matt’s roommate for a while at the Garrison and Takeshi was his mentor. He probably knows as much about his goddaughter as I do.”

Lance gaped at his roommate. “ _What?_ ”

“You only asked how well I knew _Pidge_ ,” Keith defended himself. “And I’m _not_ Hinata’s godfather. Matt and Shiro just joke about it a lot. And I _didn’t_ know she was in your class. She calls you ‘Mr. Mickey’ for fu—er, for foosball’s sake?” He ended in a question, glancing apologetically at Pidge.

She shrugged. “It’s Matt’s rule, not mine, and she’s over there messing with Iverson so you’re good.”

Keith let out a breath she hadn’t realized he was holding. Mr. McClain was still gawking. Finally, he shook his head and pouted. “I guess I’m not making any more _horchata_ for you, buddy.”

“Aw, come on, man! I had no idea you’d _want_ to know all that stuff!”

Lance rolled his eyes. “ _Anyway_ , Tina’s parents promised to talk with her about ‘tact’ and how not all families are ‘normal.’ I’m not satisfied with their level of acceptance, but you can only lead the horse to water.”

Pidge nodded. “Of course…so, how did you and the major become roommates?”

“For the love of peanut butter, we are not at _school_ ,” Keith groaned. “Or the Garrison, for that matter. I’m Keith. He’s Lance. You’re Pidge, unless you’d rather be Kat—”

“Nope.”

“Anyway, if you use another title, I’m going to go home and leave this loser here.”

Pidge hid a smile and made a note to remind him of his rank more often, since it seemed to annoy him so much. “Still want to know how you two ended up roommates.”

“I tried to pick him up at a bar,” Keith said with a devilish grin, “and he told me that even I wasn’t pretty enough to make him switch teams.”

Pidge snorted while Lance spluttered, “That is _not_ what happened!”

“Doesn’t matter,” Pidge wheezed. “That’s the story I’m accepting.”

“We were supposed to be roommates at the Garrison, and we spent most of the year before that emailing back and forth. “But my plans fell through and I had to go to a different college here in town. The bar thing happened during the spring semester of my junior year. We didn’t become roommates until I got the job at Arus two years ago.”

“You were going to go to the Garrison?” Pidge asked.

Keith winced, but Lance just shrugged. “Yeah I was, but evidently the universe had other plans for me. I think I’m probably more suited to teaching than exploring space, anyway. I’m a people person, and the way I see it I’m inspiring a lot of future astronauts, like your niece.”

Pidge snorted. “I hate to break it to you but this morning Hina told me she wants to be a fairy princess-veterinarian when she grows up. She only ever wants to be an astronaut with Matt and Takeshi are home.”

Pidge was on Cloud Nine when she went to bed that night. She’d learned a lot about Hina’s too-attractive teacher, and while she’d never thought that Arus Elementary would hire bad people, she now felt confident that Hina was in good hands this year. Lance McClain was good people.

* * *

“Lance,” Keith called through the too-thin walls. “I swear to God, if you don’t stop humming I’m going to throttle you. Some of us have to work on Sunday mornings.”

Instead of ceasing his noise like a considerate roommate, Lance came into Keith’s room without knocking, still humming, and with a dreamy look in his eyes. Keith wished he’d been nude on top of the covers, but alas the ventilation was working this week so he’d had no reason before now to be in a position that might traumatize his roommate.

“Did you see how amazing she looked tonight?” Lance asked. “I mean, I knew she was cute when I met her yesterday, but oh my goodness—”

“Lance,” Keith snapped. “I’m aware that Pidge is cute. I’m aware that she cleans up nice. I _have_ known her since she was sixteen. Please go to sleep. I don’t really want to bury a body tonight.”

Lance didn’t get the message and sat on the edge of the bed to further gush about Pidge. Keith buried his face in his pillow and prayed that if Lance was going to be in here anyway, he wouldn’t stray from his euphoric ramblings and realize that Keith had lied to him. Sure, it had been to protect Pidge’s privacy and he didn’t feel the least bit guilty, would do it again in a heartbeat, but he didn’t want to endure any more prying questions about it. Lance _was_ his best friend, but _that_ was Pidge’s only secret, and he’d be damned if he broke her trust.


	3. Code of Conduct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Allura Smythe is concerned about her best friend, and Pidge is shopping for fabric.

Lance sighed in relief when he sat down with the other teachers at lunch. It had felt like the morning was going to drag on forever. Mondays weren’t usually this bad for him, but today he was suffocating within the classroom walls. His students had picked up on it and gotten fidgety, too, which had been a nightmare. And it appeared he was more out of sorts than he realized, as there was a hand on his shoulder and he didn’t know how long it had been there.

“Oh. Hi, Allura,” he said, offering her a sheepish smile.

She grinned back at him from across the table, ignoring the other teachers to her right and left. The glint in her eyes was catlike and unsettling. “So, loverboy. Who is she?”

Lance flushed. “How do you know it isn’t you again?”

“Because,” she said in her perfectly proper British accent. “You and I both know I tend to prefer women and you respect that. And you’re pretty, dear, but you just don’t get my particle barrier going.”

Lance put a hand over his heart and feigned a soul-deep pain. “Oh, you wound me, _señiorita_! How _will_ I go on?”

They laughed together before she rested her chin on her hands. “But seriously, Lance. Your head’s been in the clouds all morning, and you would’ve told me if you were thinking about switching teams, so who is she? What’s she like?”

Lance glanced down the table toward his students, checking to make sure that one student in particular wasn’t paying any attention.

“She’s a PhD student at the university, works at the Garrison with my roommate, and she’s way out of my league.” Allura opened her mouth to protest and Lance raised a hand to cut her off. “And I met her because her niece is in my class and was being harassed by a classmate over having two fathers and no mother.”

“Oh dear,” Allura said, tapping her chin. “I trust you sorted out the classmate problem already.”

“To the best of my ability.”

“But a potential romance _does_ seem an inappropriate reason to transfer the niece to my class, even this early in the semester.”

Lance snorted. “Definitely not an appropriate solution.”

“But is it really a problem? I mean, you’re not going to favor the niece just because you’re smitten with her aunt—I should have asked this already. What does the aunt think of you?”

Lance shrugged. “I don’t really know. I mean, my roommate dragged me to her family’s home for a Garrison party and she didn’t kick me out, so there’s that. She might have thought Keith and I were a couple at first, and she was definitely hiding in the kitchen after she spotted us. Or she tried to. Her mom wasn’t having it.”

“That sounds like a good sign to me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Her assuming you’re in a relationship and then hiding is a sign of jealousy, which in turn is an indicator of interest. You should know this by now, Lance.”

He frowned. “Maybe, but my social life has kind of gone down the toilet since I started working here.”

Allura smirked. “So what else is bothering you?”

“How do you read me like an open book?”

“I’m just talented that way. And you’re my best friend, Lance. I _know_ you.”

“Well, Keith is…Keith is confusing me.”

“Do I smell a threesome in your future?”

“God, no! Allura, be serious.”

She snickered.   “I’m sorry, but your face was worth it.”

Lance scowled. “So first he said he’d been trying to introduce me to her for ages—that wasn’t the first Garrison party he tried to drag me too. I just usually chose to stay home and keep up with my grading—and he said it was because we were ‘a similar kind of annoying,’ or something like that. Then he claims he barely knows her. Then at that party she says it doesn’t matter if I update her on the harassment fiasco in front of him because he’s practically her niece’s godfather.”

“That does seem particularly contradictory, but Keith could just be friends with one or both of the child’s fathers, you know.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t claim to barely know her until—uh, that’s probably sensitive information that I shouldn’t share…Uh…”

“Take your time.”

“So…the aunt said something unusual about…the legal situation, I guess. And I asked Keith what he thought it meant since he apparently knows the family. Because the student in question looks exactly like you would expect her to if her parents were the aunt and the dad who isn’t her brother.”

“I’m sorry, Lance, but I have to have some names if you want any help from me. I can’t keep up with this pronoun game. Also, why are you dealing with the aunt instead of the fathers?”

“Because the fathers are both in space right now.”

Allura thought for a moment before her mouth dropped open. Then she gave him a devilish grin. “You know, the Holts are known for their staggeringly good looks as much as for their genius-level intellect. You have good taste, my friend.”

“How do you know the Holts? And how did you know who I was talking about just because they’re in space?”

“There’s only one famous married couple in space right now. I was paying attention because I had a couple of gen eds with Katie, and we still talk on occasion. She was so precious back then, but I’ve seen her on social media recently. She’s definitely matured since we were in school.”

Lance smiled ruefully. “She’s definitely gorgeous. And way out of my league.”

“It sounds to me like Miss Holt would disagree with you at least as much as I do. What were you saying about your roommate lying to you?”

“Right. So Keith claimed he barely knew her—she goes by Pidge, now, by the way—but you don’t spend however long trying to set your roommate up with a coworker you barely know. Pidge also told me that her brother was Keith’s roommate for a while at the Garrison, and her brother-in-law was Keith’s mentor. So there’s no way he doesn’t know her. And he didn’t get defensive until I mentioned that Hinata has Pidge’s eyes. _Exactly_ her eyes.”

“Maybe she donated an egg. It’s not uncommon for a woman to do so for her brother.”

“But why wouldn’t she just say so? Like you said, it’s _not_ uncommon. There’s certainly no social stigma like there was a century ago.”

“Maybe she doesn’t know how to feel about it? Just because it isn’t unheard of doesn’t mean it isn’t intellectually and emotionally confusing.”

Lance frowned. “Oh. I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Allura reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “So, how do you plan to prevent the conflict of interest clause from causing you trouble?”

“I didn’t think I’d really have to do anything. Hinata’s a smart kid from a family of geniuses. I can’t imagine anyone assuming I’m changing her grades just because she comes from an attractive gene pool. I figure the only thing I _can_ do is not favor her in a social aspect in the classroom. And if anything were to happen between me and Pidge—which I still don’t see happening—then I’d just be fully transparent about it with the central office. See any flaws in my plan so far?”

“Just your insecurity. You’re a catch, Lance, and a gentleman to boot. I bet you anything this woman has seen that already.”

“Thanks, Allura.”

“So, Ilun!” she said brightly and rather abruptly. “What do you think about the Hallo-hallway this year? I was thinking we could all dress up as fictional teachers, or do you think that’s a little on the nose?”

 

* * *

 

 

Pidge glared at the array of fabrics before her, as if she could cow them into cooperating with her. Not for the first time she wished Hina would be content with a Halloween costume off the rack, but even if Hina was, Matt would never allow “any child of [his]” to wear a store-bought costume. She had half a mind to get Hina to pick one anyway just to annoy the family’s resident anime prince, but she didn’t think it would be worth the week-long sulk fest. Takeshi certainly wouldn’t thank her for it.

She glanced down at her notes again and was just about to propose they look at the store’s selection up front when someone called her name, and she turned to see Lance McClain. Hina squealed and ran to him. He stopped her just short of knocking him over with an offered high five.

“Hey, stranger. What are you doing here?” Pidge asked.

“Well I’m supposed to be grocery shopping, but I’ve kind of been wandering. How about you two?”

“We’re getting stuff to make my Halloween costume!” Hina gushed. “I’m gonna be a fairy ninja!”

Lance grinned. “That’s going to be awesome. What about your auntie? Is she dressing up this year?”

“I don’t think so,” Hina pouted. “Auntie Pidge said she’s gonna have her hands full with my costume since we’ve gotta get it done early—Daddy and Papa are coming home _on_ Halloween, though!”

“That’s great, Hinata.”

“I think Auntie Pidge and Uncle Keith need to be Power Rangers. He’d be Red, so she needs to be Pink—”

“I’d rather be Green,” Pidge interjected.

“But Green’s evil!” Hina whined. “And he’s a boy!”

“Green doesn’t stay evil,” Lance reminded her. “And besides, your aunt could just be a girl-Green Power Ranger.”

“And you can be Blue!”

Pidge thought she saw Lance flushing as much as she was. “Hina, I’m sure Mr. Mickey already has something in mine, if he’s even dressing up. Right?”

Lance shrugged. “The other teachers want me to be Mr. Rodgers. I think Miss Smythe was going to be Ms. Frizzle? I haven’t really figured out her theme for the Hallo-hallway, but all I’ll really need is a cardigan. I could easily do another costume if I had somewhere to go.”

Pidge glanced down at her notes again and grimaced.

“Something wrong?” Lance asked.

“Not exactly. Can you reach that one?” She pointed up at a silvery white bolt of fabric, out of her reach.

Lance retrieved it and eyed her notes. “So she’s cosplaying her namesake but as a fairy?”

Pidge smiled absently while she continued scanning for the colors she needed. “Something like that.”

“I thought I was being me as a fairy?”

“Well, Monkey. Your papa’s a dork and he got your name from an anime, so you’re named after a ninja. That character was our starting point for designing your costume, remember?”

Hina frowned. “Okay…Can I play with your phone?”

“Sure, kiddo. Just don’t call anybody unless it’s Grandma. And stay off the Internet.”

“What about Uncle Keith?”

“Uh…” Pidge glanced at Lance. “He isn’t still at the Garrison for the day, is he?”

“No, he should be home by now.”

“You can call Uncle Keith, but don’t keep calling him if he doesn’t pick up.”

“Okay!” Hina wandered down the aisle just a little bit, pushing buttons on Pidge’s smartphone.

“So…astrophysics, engineering, children’s costuming—is there anything you _can’t_ do?”

“I can’t teach,” she answered immediately.

Lance barked a laugh. “It’s definitely not for everyone.”

“Neither is children’s costuming. Matt’s better than I am. We normally split the work—I do the functional parts and he adds the flair—but I’m on my own this year.” She sighed. “For obvious reasons.”

“You know, I _do_ have a bit of a talent for flare,” Lance said.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes?”

“Okay, so how would you recommend I turn Hyuga Hinata into a fairy?”

Lance studied the fabric selection speculatively. Pidge knew that grocery stores weren’t known for costume quality fabric, but he seemed to know what he was doing, so maybe…

He grinned in triumph and pulled a shimmering bolt. “Like this.”

 

* * *

 

 

Hinata Holt-Shirogane loved her life. She loved her daddy and papa, her grandmas and her grandpa, her uncle Hunk and her auntie Shay, and Uncle Keith, but if she was being honest she might have loved Auntie Pidge just a tiny bit more. They spent a lot of time together, even when Daddy and Papa were in space. Auntie Pidge would braid her hair after they washed it so it wouldn’t tangle, and they’d do homework together and watch cartoons. They made peanut butter everything together, all the time. Her auntie Pidge was the prettiest person she knew, and Hina was so glad she had the same eyes as Auntie Pidge.

After talking with Tina, she thought a lot about how she didn’t have a mommy, and when she’d asked Daddy and Papa over Skype, they’d told her it wasn’t important that she didn’t have a mommy because she had so many other people who loved her. And besides, she had Auntie Pidge so she didn’t really need one. And that got Hina thinking. In a way, she _did_ have a mommy, because she and Auntie Pidge did a lot of the same things Tina did with her mommy. They even looked a lot alike the way Tina and her mommy did. The only difference was the name. And she hoped Auntie wouldn’t notice; it’s not like much was different in front of her. Hina only asked that she walk with her to the classroom in the morning before saying goodbye, and that wasn’t too different from their morning routine.

It probably helped that Auntie was spending a lot of time with Mr. Mickey now. Sometimes he would come to Auntie’s apartment and help with Hina’s fairy ninja costume while she did homework or watched cartoons or read a book. Sometimes they would meet him at the park in the evenings, or go to his apartment and hang out with him and Uncle Keith. Hina had never thought of her aunt as an unhappy person, but she was definitely happier since she and Mr, Mickey started spending time together.

All the same, she hoped Auntie wouldn’t notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long with this chapter, guys. I wrote the second scene from two different points of view and I'm still not very happy with it, but it's been two weeks. Maybe I'll do some more revisions later? If I decide to do that, I'll definitely make an announcement on my tumblr about what's different.   
> Shameless self promotion: I have my YouTube channel up, where you can hear some of my stories, currently only from Plance AU Week, read aloud. I'm not sure I'll do Auntie Pidge or Heritage unless I get a lot of interest. Doing a multichaptered fic would be a LOT of work for the less than ten views I've gotten so far. I'm still playing with my recording equipment, so please if you give it a listen let me know if you have any constructive criticism! And the same for my pieces here. Let me know what you like, what you don't like, what's confusing you, etc. Or just come and talk with me. I don't have a lot of friends, and the ones I do have work actual jobs with time clocks. ^.^'
> 
> Also, for about five minutes this almost became a Kidgance fic. Does that make Allura's joke about a threesome insensitive or queerbaiting? I've been sheltered all my life so if the answer to that question is yes, please tell me and I'll have her embarrass Lance some other way.
> 
> As always, let me know if there's something I have tagged that I shouldn't have, or something I should have tagged that I haven't. And come check me out on Tumblr!
> 
> lanawrites94.tumblr.com  
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHB8sFJ9oDypDR0WaEeyMzQ?view_as=subscriber


	4. Kerfuffle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daddy Holt's got a bad feeling about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Internet. You're not seeing things. By the time you're reading this I will have made a huge drop tonight. This is the first of four chapters being published on May 10, 2018. This section has been very difficult for me to write because it's based on my own experience, and thus they were completed in three days because the alternatives were three months or never. That and I can't stand to leave people hanging over the cliff. Take that as you will.
> 
> Please be advised that there may be triggers within the next few chapters concerning relationship abuse, particularly emotional manipulation. I don't believe anything qualifies as explicit, and there's definitely no NSFW content, but I'd rather over-warn you than let someone go in not expecting it and have a bad night. The details of this scenario are based on my own personal experience and are in no way meant to be representative of any and all victims of emotional abuse/manipulation.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the next few chapters. Make sure to comment and tell me what you think! As always, let me know if my tags are too much or leave something to be desired, and check me out on tumblr!
> 
> lanawrites94.tumblr.com

Samuel Holt woke that morning with a sense of foreboding that he just couldn’t shake. He kept expecting something to go catastrophically wrong, and the more things went according to plan, the more anxious he felt.

They approached their home planet right on schedule.

They entered Earth’s atmosphere without a problem, and their ship didn’t catch fire upon re-entry any more so than they’d expected.

Iverson was waiting for them when they touched down in the gulf.

All the while, Sam was praying desperately that it wouldn’t be what he feared.

“Welcome home, gentlemen,” Iverson shouted over the noise of the chopper. “Happy Halloween.”

 

A normal day for Pidge and Hinata always started with breakfast. The entire Holt-Shirogane clan agreed that it was important to start Hinata with these good habits early, so as much as Pidge would have loved to roll over and go back to sleep until five minutes before it was time to leave, she rolled out of bed with her alarm and stumbled to her kitchen and her much-abused coffee maker, Hinata scampering after her. It was a one-bedroom apartment, but Hina had never seemed to mind.

“What do you want for breakfast, Monkey?”

Hina thought hard, too awake for such and unholy hour. “Cereal.”

“Cereal? Are you sure?”

“Auntie, you can’t cook this early. You set off the fire alarms last time!”

Pidge scoffed. “I most certainly did not.” But she shuffled to the fridge anyway as the coffee maker sputtered to life. “You want _Raisin Bran_ or _Honey Bunches_?”

“ _Lucky Charms_.”

“What are you talking about? We don’t have—”

She caught sight of Hinata’s smirk and gave up. On a normal day, Pidge would insist on the vaguely healthier cereals at least once before giving in, but today was not a normal day. “Alright, but don’t tell either of your daddies when they get home unless they ask, okay?”

Hinata immediately offered her finger for a pinky swear. “Not unless they ask.”

Another thing that the entire Holt-Shirogane clan had agreed on was that “secrets” were a no-no in general. No one was going to encourage Hinata to keep the truth to herself if she was asked for it. But mostly harmless stuff like the occasional overly-sugary breakfast? Pidge didn’t feel at all guilty for asking Hinata not to volunteer that information. After all, what was the point in her keeping Hinata for months on end if she didn’t get to spoil her while Matt and Takeshi were in space? That they were getting back today and it would be her last chance to do it for a while had absolutely nothing to do with it.

It was a bonus that the sugar high would be Lance’s problem, not hers. Actually, she did feel a twinge of guilt about that. They’d become friends over the last month and a half. He was a really cool, sweet individual, and she was so glad he’d somehow ended up being roommates with Keith. She’d hoped in the beginning that seeing him at all of Iverson’s parties would give her a better opportunity to know him than the guardian-teacher relationship they had to maintain on school grounds, but running into him in the fabric section had been like the hands of fate telling her to go for it, to pursue this friendship.

Their accidentally overdrawn breakfast (maybe _three_ bowls of _Lucky Charms_ had been a bit much) was followed by a mad dash to get Hinata into her Halloween costume and to school on time so that Pidge could get to school on time. Hina begged her to come inside with her, like she had almost every day since the Tina incident in September, but today Pidge really didn’t have time.

“I’m sorry, Mon—”

She couldn’t say no to those eyes, even though they were the same amber orbs that greeted her in the mirror every morning. They were the only part of Hina’s face she could look at without blinking back unwanted memories.

“Okay, but we’ve gotta be quick. And _walk_!”

As requested, Pidge knelt down in the doorway to the classroom to kiss Hina’s forehead and say goodbye, but this time Lance was there and _not_ distracted. He looked confused as Hina skipped to her seat. Pidge shrugged at him and waved goodbye as she sped out the door.

“ _No running_!” Hinata called after her, giggling.

Pidge really felt for her parents. No wonder she’d gotten everything she’d ever wanted as a child. Enormous amber eyes were hard to argue with.

Her own classes went by in a molasses-like blur, and she was glad she had an online study group because she was certain she missed something in her notes. But who could blame her? Team Shiro-Holt had touched down in the gulf that morning. The missing half of her family was finally back home.

As promised, her professor dismissed class early in honor of their return (and because by 1430 Katarina ‘Pidge’ Holt couldn’t sit still to save her life) and Pidge shot out of the university and into her car so she could drive as fast as the law allowed to Arus Elementary.

On a normal Thursday afternoon, Hunk would take a late lunch break to get Hinata, since Pidge technically had class until four. But this wasn’t an ordinary day.

Pidge parked on the side of the road a minute before classes were released and walked past the long line of cars that she was _not_ going to wait through. She got to the turn-around just as Lance led his class out of the building. Hinata broke out of the line when she saw her aunt and barreled towards her.

“Mommy!” she sang.

Pidge’s world froze, overflowing with elation and horror, the conflicting emotions turning her stomach. She didn’t brace herself when Hina jumped at her and staggered when the child latched on.

It took Pidge a moment to return to her surroundings, where Hina was looking up at her in concern and Lance was edging toward them, torn between something he knew and the rest of his class.

“What did you call me?” Pidge breathed.

“Mommy,” Hinata answered guiltily. “I’m sorry, Auntie. I won’t do it again.”

“I’m not your mother,” she whispered.

Her world was crashing down around her. It was the one secret they’d all agreed to keep and somehow Hina knew.

“Miss Holt?” Mr. McClain asked. “Pidge? Are you alright?”

“Please excuse me,” Pidge breathed before she ran into the building. She could hear Hina crying and could only assume Lance had stopped her from following. She couldn’t worry about that now. Her goal was the bathroom, only she didn’t make it that far.

Her stomach turned itself inside out in the blessed trashcan by the water fountain. She couldn’t stop heaving until long after her lunch was gone. At some point someone had gathered her loose hair as she retched but she had no idea who it was, her vision blurred with saltwater and her eyes forced closed for most of it. Eventually whoever it was actually tied her hair back, disappeared for a moment, and put a wet paper towel on her neck, offered a bottle of water. She spat one last time before she turned to see Lance standing there, eyes wide and his teacher persona gone.

“I’m so sorry. I thought she was up to something this morning, but I didn’t think it would be this…I should have called you, but I didn’t want to pull you out of class.”

She shook her head and overturned the bottle of water, gulping it down faster than was recommended. “What do you mean?” she asked once the bottle was empty.

“The incident with Tina last month… Her parents said they’d talk to her, and she didn’t say anything else to Hinata about it as far as I could tell…but then you were walking in with her every morning. You’d kiss her forehead. ‘Bye, sweetheart, I love you.’ Every morning.

“ _This morning_ I heard Tina tell Hina her mom was really pretty, and she just said ‘I know.’”

Pidge backed up against the wall, slid down it, and hid her face.

“Why’d it have to happen today? They just got back from Kerberos. It was supposed to be the _last_ mission Matt and Takeshi were taking together.”

She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt Lance’s hand on her shoulder, kneading warm circles into her granite muscles.

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve called you. It’s just—I knew you were in class today, and I didn’t want to interrupt and pull you out of a lecture. But I called Keith and I think he called the Garrison? Hunk is here with Hina now.”

Pidge put a hand over his and started counting her breaths like her therapist had instructed six years ago.

“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I just…I thought I would have more time.”

“I think Hunk called your mother.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because Hina’s coming this way with a taller version of you.”

“Please,” Pidge said, laughing weakly. “Enough with the short jokes.”

Pidge’s mother gracefully sat next to her daughter on the floor and put an arm around her shoulders. She’d pulled Hina down beside her, regardless of the fairy wings. They’d survived a whole day of school. If this messed them up, then oh well.

Lance took a step back, trying to give them as much privacy as he could. _Technically_ he wasn’t supposed to have let them into the building after hours at all. He certainly couldn’t leave them there.

“Are you alright, darling?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, Hina. I just…you caught me off guard is all.”

Hina was sniffling. Her eyes were red. “I’m sorry, too. I love Daddy and Papa. I promise I do. It’s just…Tina said I’m supposed to have a mommy, and I look a lot like you, so I thought—“

Pidge reached around her mother and took Hina’s hand. “It’s okay, kiddo. But can we…can we talk about this later? We’ve still gotta go get Gramps, Daddy, and Papa.”

Hina brightened. “Yeah! I’ll go get Uncle Hunk! He wants to come too. He’s just gotta call Auntie Shay first.” And with that the six-year-old sped off.

“How does she do that?”

Mrs. Holt squeezed her daughter and sighed. “You were the same way at her age. Resilient to a fault… Katie, we don’t have to tell her until you’re ready. We’ll think of something.”

She seemed to notice Lance then, standing awkwardly in the corner.

“Sorry, son. That was rude of me.” She offered her hand. “I’m Colleen Holt. Thank you for taking care of my daughter and granddaughter. You did more than you had to.”

He shook her hand and helped her up. “Lance McClain. I didn’t do anything but the right thing.”

She appraised him for a moment. “Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised you think that. You’ve been coming to those parties with my son; I thought you looked familiar.”

“Huh? Oh, you mean Keith? Yes, ma’am. He’s my roommate.”

Colleen reached down for her daughter and pulled her up, too. “Thank you, Lance. You’ll have to come over for dinner some time and bring my wayward son. He doesn’t come home enough when Iverson isn’t involved. He makes everyone so twitchy. I can’t stand having the man in my house, but Sam insists we humor him. Something about a midlife crisis.”

“Oh, I couldn’t—”

“I insist. Have a good weekend, dear.”

She wrapped her arm around her daughter and led her out the door.

“Pidge?”

The younger woman stopped and turned in her mother’s arms.

“Uh…I know this might not really be ‘my place,’ given where we are right now, and you already seem to have a great support system in place, but…please. Call me if you need anything. I want to know that you’re—that you and Hina are okay.”

She smiled faintly and waved. Lance saw her “thank you” more than he heard it.

 

He didn’t hear from Pidge. Hinata was in class the next day, but she was reserved, withdrawn. He tried to grill Keith for information—Mrs. Holt had referred to him as her son for crying out loud! He couldn’t pretend not to know her anymore.

Keith promised to ask but wouldn’t give an update beyond “she’s alive.”

Lance was worried, maybe more worried than he should have been. They had spent a fair amount of time together before the incident, but they hardly counted as more than casual acquaintances.

Right?

Was it inappropriate for him to text her first and ask how she was doing?

Did he really care if it _was_?

Hey, Pidge.

I just wanted to check in, see how you’re doing.

Let me know if you need anything, okay?

He didn’t really expect her to respond, so he wasn’t ~~very~~ disappointed when she never did.

He was, however, shocked when Keith came barreling into his room that Sunday, panting, with panic in his eyes.

“Keith? What’s—are you okay?”

“Pidge,” he gasped, and that was all it took for Lance to launch himself across the room for his shoes.


	5. Regression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Communication is not Pidge's strong suit, even on a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning in this chapter concerning emotional abuse and unplanned pregnancy. In case you were wondering, this is the second of four chapters being dropped today, May 10, 2018, so in case you're confused, go back one chapter.
> 
> Again, the details of this scenario are based on my own personal experience (minus the pregnancy) and are in no way meant to be representative of any or all victims of emotional abuse. If something like this has happened to you, know that it is not your fault. Say it with me. "It's not my fault." It's all too easy to blame ourselves, and I hope writing this will help me get past blaming myself and into being thankful that I'm safe.
> 
> As always, let me know if my tags are too much or leaving something to be desired. Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

She couldn’t close her eyes without seeing His face. She’d finally stopped having the nightmares, yet here He was as though back from the dead.

She tried to excuse herself from meeting her family at the Garrison but her mother wouldn’t hear of it. Her father, brother, and Takeshi had been in space for months, and surely seeing them would make her feel better.

But how could it make her feel better when she saw Him in Takeshi’s face and panicked?

She tried to hide it. It was no one’s fault but her own. And His.

She might have gotten away with it if Hunk and Shay hadn’t come along. As it was they pulled her away from the tearful reunion for a moment’s peace, a moment to ground herself in the present. It was enough. Until the inevitable question was asked.

“Hey. Katie, where are you?”

She panicked. Really and truly panicked.

Hinata cried.

It was a day she desperately wanted to forget. If only she could be so lucky.

She didn’t remember leaving the Garrison and was only vaguely aware of Shay’s arms around her in the back seat of someone’s car. Probably Hunk’s. She lost track again between there and the bed she was tucked into. She didn’t know where or whose, only that it was soft and she was blessedly alone under the covers. Someone else breathed softly in the room, but for the moment she was untouched. No one’s fingers stroked her forehead to check her temperature or carded through her hair in a misguided attempt to soothe.

She was grateful.

Pidge hated to be alone, but she also hated the loving caresses that in this moment would only remind her of Him.

Then again, it might not have made a difference. She was thinking of Him anyway. A crack had sprung in her dam at that single word, and now everything about Him was flooding out.

 

_Katie Holt learned was love was at sixteen. Sure, she’d known what it was intellectually, but experiencing it was another matter entirely. She could never love anyone the way she loved Him, and she didn’t think anyone could love her the way He did. She didn’t want anyone else to try._

_He needed her._

_She couldn’t afford to let anyone else try. Even if she didn’t do anything, the thought of someone else trying to love her like He did would kill Him, He said._

_He cried when he flunked out of the Garrison, begged his brother and then Katie to get him one more chance. When those plans fell through, He begged her to run away with him._

_In time she saw through Him, saw that really, He only loved himself. What He “felt” for her was a perverse sense of possession, which she should have realized months before when the words “my property” fell from his lips, the way older siblings joke about you being a beloved teddy bear they don’t want to stop hugging. Except He hadn’t been joking._

_Matt and Takeshi found her states away after she called home. They found her wandering aimlessly on the side of a road, eyes bloodshot and face blotchy. She’d cried herself sick and then cried until she had no more tears to shed._

_They took her home, made sure she would never have to see Him again, but it was too late. The damage was done and growing. She was eighteen and terrified, and she shoved all of her pain and terror into a single word that didn’t deserve it._

 

People came in and out, talked to her, tried to coax her to eat something, anything, but she wasn’t interested, wasn’t hungry, wasn’t thirsty. All she wanted was the oblivion of sleep, but her dreams were riddled with His touch, reverberated with His pleas for her to stay, His declarations of undying love, His assertions that he’d never find anyone else like her, and His promises that if she left He would be dead by morning.

She ignored everyone and stewed in her thoughts, her just punishment. She’d been a fool to fall for his tricks. It was all His fault, but no matter what anyone said it was all her fault, too. She should have known better.

 

A few days in, someone had had enough. She wasn’t sure who. She couldn’t bring herself to care who. She only knew that if she didn’t eat or drink _something_ they were going to take her to the hospital. She hadn’t been back there in six years. She sure as hell wasn’t going back now. So she did what she did best.

Katie Holt ran away from her problems.


	6. Call to Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone tries, but it's out of their hands. What are you supposed to do when you don't understand what's going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering, this is the third of four chapters being dropped today, May 10, 2018. Trigger warning for (poor?) representation of a panic attack. The details of this scenario are based on my own personal experience and are in no way meant to be representative of any or all victims of emotional abuse. 
> 
> As always, let me know if my tags are too much or leaving something to be desired. Drop a comment and let me know what you think!

Hunk’s call to arms had come out of nowhere in the middle of his lunch break. It had been years since Keith Kogane had been a part of their social circle, but he’d run into the cafeteria like a bat out of hell, found Hunk like it had only been yesterday that he last sat at the very same table, and panted that Hunk needed to get to Arus quick because it had finally happened and Pidge needed him. He didn’t bother to ask Keith to come, too. He knew the man would refuse, though he didn’t know how, when, or why Keith and Pidge had fallen out, only that they had and neither one of them would talk about it.

Hunk got to the school as quickly as he could and was alarmed at the mess he found that was his sweet little Hinata. He thought she should have already cried herself out for the most part, and the man she was sitting with looked pretty anxious, repeatedly glancing toward the nearest academic building. He caught sight of Hunk and raised his perfectly groomed eyebrows.

“That was quick,” Hinata’s teacher said drily.

“I was in the neighborhood.” _I broke the sound barrier._

Hunk scooped Hina into his arms and murmured to her. He didn’t know what had happened, who knew what, so he kept everything close to his chest and stuck with words of comfort and promises of peanut butter.

“Your grandma is on her way, baby girl. I called her on my way here. Where’s your auntie?”

The word was like bile on his tongue, but he wouldn’t trade it for the truth. Not yet.

Hinata pointed a shaky hand toward the building her teacher had been stealing glances at and renewed her crying, pressing her face into Hunk’s shoulder and rubbing snot into his uniform. He didn’t care, though. He’d rather pay a thousand dry cleaning bills than be anything less than she needed him to be. Even if that was just a giant, snuggly Kleenex.

“She ran into the building,” the teacher supplied. “I’ll go check on her now. I couldn’t just leave Hinata alone, and I figured Pidge ran away for a reason…”

Hunk watched the man jog away, down the steps and into the building. Mr. Mickey’s use of her nickname surprised him, but it really shouldn’t have. She’d always insisted that ‘Dr. Holt’ was her great grandfather.

 

Hunk’s uniform jacket was thoroughly soaked by the time Colleen arrived, but it felt like no time at all as his mind spun in circles, once again cursing the twist of fate that had eventually led to this clustered mess they were stuck in now, this web of facts and red tape that all spiraled out from one tiny secret and amounted to one monstrous lie.

“How are you, angel?” Colleen asked as she approached. Hunk wasn’t at all surprised when Hinata extricated herself from his lap and launched herself at her grandmother to further vent her sorrow and confusion into another shoulder.

“Hunk, where’s Katie?”

“Inside. Hinata’s teacher is looking after her. I think.”

“I see… Do you mind joining the procession this afternoon? I don’t think she should be driving after all this.”

“You got it, Mom,” he said. Everyone called her that. If you didn’t it was because she didn’t like you and wanted you to know it. Or you were new. “Let me throw some stuff in the trunk and I’ll follow you back to base.”

“Thank you, dear. We’ll be right back.”

Hunk heaved himself to his feet as Colleen followed the path to the building, Hinata in tow. He hoped he could be that amazingly calm someday but didn’t envy Colleen the life experiences that got her to that point.

 

Getting Pidge to the Garrison was nerve wracking. He was glad he’d suggested she ride with him while Hina stayed with Colleen, though. It was infinitely better for Hina _not_ to see Pidge like this, bursting at the seams while her face remained blank. Hunk hadn’t seen her like this since Hina had been weaned and started accepting a bottle.

When asked she shared the details of what happened, and Hunk was relieved and more concerned at once. In the grand scheme of things, this could’ve been a lot worse. Hinata _hadn’t_ learned the truth after all, but Pidge was currently holding herself like a zombie, as though it was the actual apocalypse and the world was burning and she’d numbed herself to the pain and fear because, in the end, her efforts didn’t even matter.

“You know, Pidge, this wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. She doesn’t know. Your secret is safe for a couple more years, and we have time to come up with a plan. It isn’t—”

“Just stop,” she whispered.

Hunk watched her from the corner of his eye. “Stop what? Trying to help?”

“It’s over, Hunk. Even if she doesn’t know, she _knows_. I told her I’m _not_ —I actually _lied_ to her this time. No half-truths or evasions or omissions. I said ‘I’m not your—’”

Pidge choked on the word and Hunk almost pulled over, worried she was going to be sick again. But it passed and she begged him not to stop, to keep driving. Past the Garrison and off the edge of the world. She wouldn’t mean it tomorrow, but Hunk’s heart already hurt for her, for the anguish that was only just beginning. He didn’t know what was going on inside her head, then or now, but he knew Pidge and he worried that this lie was going to haunt her to her dying day.

 

The reunion was a disaster. Hunk and Shay both were keeping an eye on Pidge by then and neither missed the way she quaked when she saw her brother-in-law. And it didn’t matter that Takeshi had never and would never hurt her. He looked too much like someone who had, and today was the one day she couldn’t handle it.

Shay pulled her away for a moment to recover, but it was over too quickly and things only went downhill from there.

“Katie, Where are you?” Takeshi asked in his similar voice, even if his tone was exactly the opposite of the memories she’d been suppressing for too long. Her breath came faster anyway, reaching a dangerous rate in seconds. Hunk stepped between her and her family, hoping to at least block her from Hinata’s view.

It didn’t do any good.

His best friend bolted when he tried to touch her. His niece tried to follow her and cried for the umpteenth time that day when Colleen held her back.

Shay ran after her and Hunk clenched his fist. He was a lot of things. A gossip, maybe a drama queen, occasionally somewhat passive aggressive, and definitely capable of holding a grudge, but he didn’t hate people. At his core he was compassionate, loyal, and a pacifist, yet in this moment he would have given anything to destroy the monster responsible for this.

He found his fiancé and best friend after a brief search. The two were curled together in the floor of a hallway, halfway to the lab where Pidge conducted her research for the Garrison. Shay held her close, in her lap with her ear over Shay’s heart so Pidge could hear the steady rhythm and ground herself while Shay stroked her hair. Despite Shay’s efforts, Pidge only stared at some unknown point in the distance, eyes half-shut and unblinking.

Hunk slipped into the server room and deleted the security footage, replacing it with fifteen minutes of an empty hallway copied from earlier in the day before he joined them. Iverson would never let her go to Mars with him and Keith if he got wind of this. It was a hit Hunk didn’t think she could take right now. He certainly didn’t want to risk it.

 

This wasn’t the first time Hunk had camped out on the Holts’ couch and it wouldn’t be the last, but he wished it was happening under happier circumstances. He tried to convince Shay to go home—they shouldn’t both have to stay—but she wouldn’t hear of it. Pidge was her friend, too. He was infinitely grateful that his fiancé loved his best friend as much as he did, but he wished she’d had less painful opportunities to show it.  

 

Takeshi Shirogane couldn’t put his feelings into words. He didn’t know any in English that were strong enough to convey their depth. The closest he could get was unadulterated, righteous fury, and it was all Matt could do to keep him from jumping on a plane the moment they got home and he could retrieve his passport—“You don’t even know if he’s in Japan, Takeshi. You don’t know where he is! Maybe you can’t help Katie right now, but you _can_ help Hina.”

Hinata.

Hina was the only thing in his life more important than beating his disowned brother into a bloody pulp for the second time in a decade. Takeshi had claimed to be an only child for the past seven years. Hinata had no idea that Daijiro Shirogane existed, and he planned to keep it that way.

He took a deep breath. “There’s nothing either of us can say to her that won’t make this worse. Do you think cartoons and ice cream or board games? Should we still take her trick or treating?”

Matt shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, baby. I think…let’s ask her when she wakes up if she wants to watch TV and see if she feels up to going later?”

Hinata had passed out on the way home from the Garrison. Matt had put her to bed and then entered their bedroom to find his husband hurriedly packing a bag, fuming, and pointedly avoiding the mirror on the dresser. That was half an hour ago.

Now that he’d taken a moment to be rational, Takeshi was appalled at himself. He’d been so caught up in his anger over being the final trigger for Katie’s panic attack that he’d forgotten Matt would be upset, too. It was his baby sister who’d been hurt. And Takashi’s ex-brother who had done the hurting.

He folded his husband into his embrace and kissed his forehead. “I’m sorry, love. I was wrapped up in my head. Before we go check on Hinata, what do _you_ need?”

Matt pressed his face into Takeshi’s shoulder and sighed. “Just hold me for a minute? Being in close quarters with you and my _dad_ sucked balls. Or rather, it didn’t.” He sighed. “ _But_ , we’ll have to make up for that later, after Hina’s gone to bed for the night and I’ve checked on my sister.”

Takeshi snorted. “You realize we might not have the bed to ourselves tonight, don’t you? She always shares with Katie when we’re in space.”

“And after the day she’s had…” Matt said, trailing off into another sigh. “Do you think Keith would take her trick or treating if I said please? I bet I could whip up a Neji costume for him so they could be a pair. The hardest part would be getting his hair to behave.”

Takeshi smiled and gave his husband a proper kiss. “I love you so much, but I think she’ll need to be with us tonight.”

Matt withdrew from Takeshi’s embrace but kept hold of his hand. “You’re right. You’re almost always right. Let’s go check on our little gremlin.”

Takeshi let Matt pull him down the landing toward Hina’s room. He was still angry, but Matt had put things in perspective for him the way he always did.

It was far more important to take care of the things he had now than to focus on the wrongs of the past. He would still beat Daijiro within an inch of his life if he ever saw him again, but he wasn’t about to go halfway around the world to look for the bastard when he could be taking care of the one ray of sunshine that had cut through his former brother’s sins.

 

Shay had hoped desperately that Pidge would improve over the weekend and be back to her usual sarcastic, generally happy self. The longer her friend remained catatonic, the more worried she became. It was Sunday, and Pidge still wasn’t eating, wasn’t drinking. Her father had just threatened to have her admitted to the hospital if she didn’t consume _something_ , and Shay had slipped down to the kitchen for a fresh stack of peanut butter crackers and a glass of water because she was still hopeful. But the closer she came to Pidge’s room the greater the dread in her stomach became. She sped up and burst into Pidge’s room to find the bed empty and the windows thrown wide open to greet the coming storm. It was the second floor, but the awning over the porch and the drainage pipe would have made sneaking out child’s play for Pidge.

“Hunk!” Shay called, half yelling, half sobbing. “Call everyone!”

Pidge was nowhere to be seen, but she couldn’t have gotten far.


	7. Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith is worried and confused. Lance is a good friend, or at least he tries to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you just opened the most recent notification about my updating, please be advised that I've made a huge drop tonight and this is the final of four chapters that I'm posting at once (not to be confused with the last chapter of Auntie Pidge. This fic is a giant, beautiful monster that is beyond my control and has no end in sight). Potential triggers for this chapter include reference to the decision not to abort an unplanned pregnancy and the aftermath of emotional abuse/manipulation. The details of this scenario are based on my own personal experience (minus the pregnancy) and are in no way meant to be representative of any or all victims of emotional abuse. 
> 
> As always, please let me know if you feel my tags are too much or leaving something to be desired. Leave a comment and let me know how I'm doing!

Keith’s heart had stopped in his chest when he got the call. Pidge was missing.

 _Pidge was missing_.

Pidge was _missing_.

Shay had walked into her room to find the window open, just as a storm was rolling in.

Pidge had run away, and he could have stopped her. He could have stopped her, and he didn’t because of his stupid fucking ego that apparently hadn’t healed, even after seven years.

Wherever she was, Pidge was missing. And she’d probably left Katie in her place.

She hadn’t been Katie since…Keith couldn’t even remember. He just knew she’d seemed better after she dropped that identity and become Pidge.

After she dropped him.

He shook those thoughts away and rushed Lance out of the apartment. There was no time to think about that now. He’d made peace with that. It was time to find her.

“Where could she have gone?” Lance said, thinking aloud. “She isn’t much of a drinker. She’s addicted to peanut butter, but she could get that anywhere so that doesn’t help. She wouldn’t go to the Garrison would she?”

“Please stop talking,” Keith growled as he sidled past a herd of last-chance trick or treaters and their parents. He was trying to think himself. Where _would_ she go? Her favorite places that he knew were irreversibly tied to the memories she was running from, aside from her parents’ house. But that was where she had run away _from_.

One place stuck out in his mind. It was impossible but he couldn’t shake it. Surely someone had checked there already.

He didn’t know where else to look.

“Got your car keys?”

“Huh? Of course I do.”

“I need you to dirve to that park near the Holt house.”

Lance started his car remotely and led the way.

 

_Keith had been reeling for a week. The news had shocked him to his core, but he wasn’t surprised she’d decided to see it through. Katie didn’t believe in giving up or backing down, not his Katie. She would stick with this until the end, and she would do it fiercely.  Keith pitied the fool who got in her way._

_He pulled up on his motorcycle to the park near her house where she’d asked to meet. He fingered the lump in his pocket. He’d already made up his mind about this. He’d just been waiting for the right time, and he wondered if it might be tonight._

_Probably not._

_Katie sat on a green swing, facing away from him as she watched the sunset. Her hair was down and blowing around her face in the breeze. She was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen, but he grew concerned when he got in front of her and saw the sadness in her eyes as she rested her hand on her belly. She was just barely starting to show._

_“What’s up, Katie?”_

_“I’m going to ask Matt and Takashi to take the baby.”_

 

She wasn’t at the park. Keith felt like an idiot for hoping she might be. How vain was it to think he might’ve been on her mind with everything else that had been going on?

Lance kept driving through the downpour, following different paths she might have taken and remaining blessedly silent, aside from the occasional question for places she might’ve gone.

He definitely knew, and Keith’s lies and half-truths were an elephant in the back seat. He would have to address it at some point and while he _really_ didn’t feel like doing it now, sooner would be better than later for the sake of their friendship.

“When did you figure out I know her better than I said?”

 “Almost immediately,” Lance said with a shrug.

“You’re not mad?”

“I’m not happy, but I’m not mad either. I figured you had a reason, and you obviously didn’t intend to lie to me when you opened your mouth or you wouldn’t have contradicted yourself. You were either going to come clean or you weren’t, and I get the feeling it all revolves around a secret that isn’t yours to share.”

“I keep forgetting you minored in Psychology.”

“Ha. There were so many psychs required for my major it didn’t make sense not to, but that has nothing to do with this. I just know you.”

 “What have you guessed already?”

“Pidge is Hinata’s mother, biologically speaking. I’m hoping it was a bad relationship—” Keith growled but nodded and Lance sighed. It was still a terrible situation to have been in, but the alternative was at least slightly more horrifying. “I’m guessing abusive, given her reaction on Thursday.”

“He never hit her, but you’ve got the basics…She was sixteen when all this started. Eighteen when Hinata was born.”

“I _don’t_ understand why she looks like Shiro. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to sleep with a pair of siblings.”

“He has—used to have a brother. He’s been disowned. They look a lot alike. Or they did before Takeshi rearranged his face. I wish he would’ve let me help, but the fucker might not have survived both of us, and we couldn’t go to jail on her.”

“So…how did you two fall out so bad? If you don’t mind my asking?”

Keith sighed. _Like a Band-Aid. Rip it off and get it over with._ “I didn’t think she should have given up custody. Looking back I get her reasoning…but unlike her dad, I was against it because of my own experience, not because it might’ve led to the mess we’re in right now. I still think her dad was right, but I was an idiot.” _Yeah, good job, stopping halfway._

“Okay…so because your parents died and you ended up in the foster system, you didn’t think she should’ve asked her brother, whom I’m sure she trusted with her own life, to care for her baby, even though she was still in school, really young, and probably already relying on her parents financially anyway? Did you think she should have given up her dreams of being an astronaut and contributing to science? Or did you think she should have taken a gamble on someone she didn’t _know_ would love her baby?”

“I already said Past Keith was an idiot. Do you have to rub it in?”

“Yes.”

“Asshole.”

“Language.”

“I said ‘fucker’ earlier and now you’re chastising me?”

“Yes.”

Keith sighed, but he smiled. His goofball roommate tended to have that effect on people.

“So is that it?”

“Yep.”

“Are you lying?”

“Hell, yeah.”

“Okay. For future reference, ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ is a valid answer that translates to Lancey Lance shutting up or changing the subject.”

“Good to know.”

 

It was after midnight before they got a call. A police officer had picked Pidge up for jaywalking, didn’t say where, with a half-empty bottle in a brown paper bag. It turned out to be lemonade but he took her to the hospital anyway when she passed out in the middle of proving she wasn’t walking in the middle of the road because she was drunk. The entire search party was in the ER waiting room by the time Keith and Lance showed up. Colleen Holt ran when they came in the door and threw her arms around Keith’s neck.

“Hi…Mom,” he said as he returned her hug.

“Next time it had better not take a scare like this for you to come see us,” she said.

Keith winced. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I didn’t think she wanted to see me.”

Colleen shook her head as she pulled back. “I’m sure she’s over it by now, sweetheart.”

“Where’s Hina?” Lance asked, looking around.

“She’s at home with her daddy,” Matt said. “Who are you and why are you asking about my little girl?”

“He’s my roommate,” Keith said at the same time Lance said, “I’m Pidge’s friend and Hinata’s teacher. And you’re Matt. I could tell you two are siblings in the dark.”

Keith muffled a laugh in his palm and Matt glared at him. Keith cleared his throat. “So, have they said anything?”

“She’s still passed out, but they have her on an IV for the dehydration. As soon as she wakes up they’ll evaluate whether or not she actually needs to be admitted.” Sam hadn’t gotten up when the boys came in but he stood now and pulled Keith into a hug as soon as he could reach. “It’s good to see you, son. Thank you for coming out tonight.”

“Anytime.”

Sam squeezed him tight for a moment before he turned his attention to Lance. “Hinata told me you helped make her Halloween costume.”

Lance grinned. “I may have had something to do with the flair. I volunteered when I heard the usual flair master was in space.”

“What?” Matt said. “I thought my sister did that all on her own! I was gonna congratulate her on it when I found an appropriate time…”

Colleen laughed. “Your sister would be ecstatic to know you have so much faith in her abilities. She probably would have just bought a fairy costume if she hadn’t gotten help.”

Matt grasped Lance’s hands and held them to his chest. “Thank you for saving my child from a tacky store-bought costume!”

Lance laughed. “You’re welcome.”

 

Pidge was admitted to the hospital an hour later, but the doctor expected to release her by the following afternoon. She still wasn’t talking much, but she seemed to be more present in her own head. Shay suspected that by this point she was just embarrassed, which was silly. When they had a moment alone, where everyone else was out in the hall, either doing paperwork or headed home, Shay perched on the edge of the bed and held out her hand, a wordless request. Pidge took it and Shay smiled.

“Hey, sunshine.”

Her friend looked away.

“You know no one is angry with you, right?”

Pidge snorted.

“What good would it do for us to be mad?”

No response.

“Honey, I just want you to know that you can talk to me. About anything. I know…I know you’ve been trying to deal with this all on your own, but you don’t have to. You’ve never had to. We’re all here for you and we love you. But we can’t help you if you don’t talk to us.”

Pidge took a deep breath and let it explode out of her.

“I’m sorry.”

“Can I hug you? Is that okay?”

Pidge leaned forward and let Shay embrace her. “You don’t have to ask,” she mumbled over Shay’s shoulder.

“You ran from Hunk when he tried to touch your wrist. I don’t know if you remember this, but when we first got you back to the house, you fought when anyone but your mother or I tried to touch you. None of us realized… It didn’t occur to any of us that touching you could be too much. After all this, I think we’re all going to be asking about every little thing for a while.”

Pidge pressed her face into Shay’s shoulder when the other woman tried to pull back and her breath hitched. “Hunk is…built like _him_. I know he’s not _him_ , and I knew he wasn’t then, but I saw and heard _him_ in Takeshi and I panicked when Hunk… But you and my mom are…softer? I could never mix either of you up with him in a moment of panic. That’s why.”

“Alright… But speaking of, Takeshi’s been texting everyone nonstop. He’s worried about you and he’s accepted that he needs to stay away for a while, but I think you should call him.”

“I don’t have my phone.”

Shay reached into the pocket of her hoody and passed it over. “It’s late, so you don’t have to do it now, but before you go home would be better.”

“Are you not staying?”

“No. Your mother made me promise I’d go home and sleep before I have to go to work. I’m headed that way as soon as she gets back.”

“Oh.”

 

Keith wrapped on the door. “Can I come in?” he called softly. There was a rustle of sheets before Shay opened the door. “Hi.”

She smiled warmly. “Hello. Long time, no see.”

“Yeah, about that—”

Shay put a finger over his lips and his eyes widened. “None of that,” she said. “You’re here now. That’s what matters.”

He smiled a little and she retracted her hand. “Can I come in?”

She glanced over her shoulder and stepped aside.

“Hey, Pidge.”

She stared at him, enormous amber eyes wide. They’d captivated him once upon a time, but not anymore. He wasn’t sure if his pride had been too hurt or if the time away from her had eroded his feelings until they were purely familial. He supposed it didn’t matter either way.

“Can I talk to you?”

She blinked and patted the bed at her side. He strode to her and heard Shay shut the door. He didn’t hear her again, so he assumed she’d left. He was grateful for the privacy.

Keith sat and stared at the empty sheets between him, thinking of all the times she’d been here and he should have been with her, would have been with her if he hadn’t been such an idiot. They sat in silence for a while before they spoke in unison.

“I’m sorry.”

They stared at each other and laughed. It was shaky laughter, but at least it was real. Keith felt like he’d only heard fake laughter from her at work, and it was nice to think that things might finally be alright between them. “You want to go first or should I?”

Pidge bit her lip. “I’m…I’m sorry for worrying you. Leaving the house like that was a dumb idea. I wasn’t thinking straight, but I was about to call home when the police officer stopped me.”

Keith smirked. “Well, we _were_ all really worried. I, uh…I kind of dragged Lance into this, by the way. He’s currently passed out in the waiting room.” He wasn’t expecting the light flush in her cheeks.

“Why the hell did you do that? It’s a school night!”

“Well if I’d been the one to find you I didn’t want to have to take you home on the back of my motorcycle. For one thing it was raining, and for another I didn’t know what kind of state you’d be in. He has a car. I don’t.”

She sulked. “You couldn’t have borrowed it?”

“Nobody drives Blue but him.”

Pidge laughed and rolled her eyes. “His car isn’t even blue.”

“He says she used to be.” Keith took a deep breath to prepare himself. He’d put this off for seven years. He couldn’t put it off any longer.

“I’m sorry…Katie. For what I did. It was stupid and poorly timed and _extremely_ ill-advised.”

She looked away from him and out the window. “You may be the only man I’ve ever known to apologize for something like that.”

“Well, like I said, I was being stupid. You didn’t need me to swoop in and try to fix everything for you like that. You needed a friend, not a hero. You needed me to be there by your side. I took that too literally and I’m sorry.”

“Keith…you don’t have to apologize for that. I know _now_ that you weren’t trying to take advantage of me or anything. You were just trying to look out for me. I wasn’t in a good place then, and I’m sorry for the way I handled it. I know there’s nothing we can do about it now, but…if you had asked me a few months later I probably would have said yes.”

_“What’s up, Katie?”_

_“I’m going to ask Matt and Takashi to take the baby.”_

_Keith was shocked. He thought he’d be floundering for words but his mouth ran on without permission. “What? Why—why would you do that? I thought you were going to keep him?”_

_“I said I wouldn’t abort. I didn’t say anything about keeping the baby. Also, ‘him’?”_

_“I have a good feeling it’s a ‘him’. But why, Katie?”_

_She turned her face away and clenched her fist in the fabric over her bump. “Because I’m a mess, Keith. This baby deserves better. I never know who I’m going to be when I wake up in the morning. Will I be me? Or will I be a scared little girl wandering alone in a strange city?”_

_“But you’re_ going _to get better. We’re all here for you, and you’re seeing the best therapist in town!”_

_“Yeah, he’s not helping me at all. I don’t think anyone can help me, and I don’t…I don’t feel like I deserve help. It was all my fault.”_

_“No, Katie, it wasn’t. You were the victim. None of this was your fault.”_

_“You’re wrong. I saw the signs. I knew he was a piece of shit, but I stayed. I stayed because I thought I could change him. I didn’t want to admit I was wrong and look where that got me? Every bit of it was my fault.”_

_“It’s not your fault.”_

_“It is. I don’t deserve help. I don’t deserve to love this baby, or to be loved by her.”_

_“Yes, you do. You deserve all the love in the world. You still would if any of this_ had _been your fault. Katie, I want to give you all of my love, you_ and _this baby.”_

_Keith froze. Had he really just said that?_

_Katie was staring at him, eyes wide and horrified._

_“Excuse me?”_

I’ve already shoved my foot in my mouth. Might as well choke.

_He knelt in front of her where she sat and pulled the little box from his pocket. Katie wasn’t crying. But she was pregnant and hormonal and all over the place. Shouldn’t she be crying?_

_“I love you, Katarina. I wish I’d realized it sooner. Please. I want to take care of you, you and this baby. Will you marry me?”_

_She stood, turned on her heel and walked away. Keith stared after her for a moment before he tripped over himself to follow her._

_“Katie, wait!”_

_“No,” she said. She turned to face him, eyes blazing. “No, Keith. I just got away from him and this is the last thing I need right now. I don’t think you understand. I don’t_ trust myself _to make good decisions anymore. I can’t look in the mirror and say ‘Oh, there’s a responsible young lady. She’s going to do great things, someday.’  Even if I wanted you like that, I can’t make any major changes right now. I can’t trust that I’ll feel the same way five minutes from now, let alone five years!”_

_“But you can decide to give up your baby?”_

_Katie clenched her jaw tight, then her eyes, and she left. She didn’t stop this time when Keith begged her to come back._

_He heart throbbed in his chest, broken. This was a mistake he could never undo, and now she would never speak to him again._

 

Keith didn’t know what to feel when he traded off with Colleen. He’d started crying out of nowhere at her words, and even though she was the one in the hospital after a weekend-long breakdown she was comforting him. She’d leaned forward and hugged him, and the next thing he knew she was drifting off to sleep with her head on his chest. Colleen had looked as confused as he’d felt, but she’d helped him extricate himself from Katie’s embrace so he could go home for four hours before he had to be at work.

He was surprised to find Lance awake in the waiting room. And looking guilty.

“What did you do?”

“I—er…I may or may not have heard you talking. With Pidge. It was Mama Holt’s idea!”

Keith glared. “How much did you hear?”

“Uh…I _definitely_ didn’t hear you crying.”

“Are you lying?”

“He—er, heck, yeah.”

Keith shook his head. So much for privacy.

“Man, what did you do?”

“I _really_ don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Lance pouted. “Think you might tell me someday?”

Keith shrugged. “Pidge can tell you if she wants. I kind of revealed her secret, and I’d rather she pay me back that way than anything else she might come up with.”

Lance frowned. “I probably won’t ask her. Don’t want to go behind your back like that.”

“It’s hardly going behind my back if I suggested it.”

“Yeah, but still. You’re not ready to talk about it. You’re my friend, and you were my friend long before I started crushing on this lady. I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me.”

Keith smiled sadly. “Thanks, man.”

Lance threw an arm around his shoulder. “ _No pasa nada, hombre_. But…can we go home now? I’ve missed enough beauty sleep as it is.”

Keith rolled his eyes and headed toward the exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if you can tell from this chapter, but I'm going back and forth on the Kidgance bit. On the one hand, I adore Kidgance. On the other hand, this piece was originally started for Plance AU Week so I'm not sure that I /should/ let it stray into that area. But like I said before, this fic is now beyond my control and I'm just going with the flow, so I guess we'll see how Pidge, Lance, and Keith feel about it? Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think so far!


	8. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doctors, doctors everywhere and little rest for Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all. Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out. I was going to have it out Sunday, but then Season 6 happened and it wrecked me. There's a casting choice in here that I made a month ago, but I stuck with it for reasons I'll discuss in the note after the chapter. So if you haven't watched season 6 yet, the chapter itself is safe from spoilers but my notes at the bottom of this page are not guaranteed to be spoiler free. You have been warned. 
> 
> So reasons this took so long. For one thing, I was trying to get a few more chapters of Heritage out before Season 6 dropped. That did not happen. I got one more out. But on the bright side I now have the same number of chapters out for both of my multi-chaptered stories. This probably doesn't matter to anyone but me, but it makes my OCD happy so there's that. Second, now that Pidge's past is a little more in the open, the fic is centered more on moving on from "the terrible thing in your past that you don't want to think about anymore" and I haven't exactly done that myself so it has been somewhat difficult figuring out pacing and what's realistic for the purposes of portrayal in fiction. For example, it's taken me a year to stop thinking it was my fault. And that's a year in therapy. I'm sure we don't want to spend that long with Pidge and her therapist. Just saying. So forgive me if subsequent updates are scattered and infrequent as this is not an easy piece for me to write. Add to that, it's not the only multi-chaptered fic I am working on, and I'm supposed to be writing stuff I can sell as well. Because that's what I have a degree in and I have student loans. 
> 
> As always, if you think my tags are too much or leave something to be desired, let me know in the comments below! Whether or not you have an account here on AO3, you can follow me on tumblr for updates and the occasional photo of a pupper sitting on my papers and further delaying me publishing another chapter (meaning there is one up now. His name is Spec the Hero Dog. Like the post if you want to hear why he's called that). Let me know how I'm doing! Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> lanawrites94.tumblr.com  
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHB8sFJ9oDypDR0WaEeyMzQ?view_as=subscriber

Any minute now, Pidge would be discharged. The doctor would come in, declare her the picture of health, and let her go. She was itching to change into her fresh clothes and leave the nasty hospital smells behind her, to go back to her apartment, back to her life, back to preparing for her mission to Mars next year.

Back to pretending _he_ had just been a bad dream.

There was a knock on the door and the doctor entered. “Good morning, Miss Holt. How are you today?”

“Doctor,” she corrected automatically. “It’s Dr. Holt.”

“Dr. Holt,” he conceded. “I’m Dr. Smythe, and it looks like you came to us last night after a fainting spell that was the result of dehydration and insufficient sustenance. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“I just got really focused on a project at work and forgot to eat,” she said evenly, grateful that her mother had chosen now to go find herself a cup of coffee. “It won’t happen again, I assure you.”

“Is that so?” he asked, twirling one end of his impeccably groomed orange moustache as he eyed her over her file. “Because the receptionist on duty last night made a note that a search party reconvened in the lobby to wait on you. And looking back over your records, this isn’t the first time you’ve come to this hospital with the same or a similar issue. Notably, you were pregnant the first time. How is your daughter, by the way? The name Holt sounds familiar. I think I was on call the day you had her. Healthy set of lungs on that child.”

Pidge’s breath caught in her throat. This doctor wasn’t nearly as indifferent as the last several. Curse her terrible luck.

“My niece is fine,” she said.

“Your niece, eh?”

She nodded mutely.

“Dr. Holt,” he said. “I am not your primary physician. I don’t know your whole history and I won’t pretend to. But from what I’ve observed of you in the last several minutes and what I’ve gleaned from your file, it seems to me you could benefit from seeing a therapist. I know a good one I can recommend to you. He might even be here on the floor today. I’ll see to it he stops by before I discharge you.”

“No!” Pidge cried. “No, I don’t want to see a counselor. I’ve seen one before and it wasn’t helpful.”

Dr. Smythe’s eyes widened at Pidge’s emphatic response, and he opened his mouth just as the door swung open.

“Katarina, dear! Look who I found,” her mother sang as she walked in with a tall man on her arm, his platinum blond hair wisping out of its long braid as she dragged him bodily into the room. “It turns out he works here two days a week as a trauma counselor. Did you know that? How amazing is it that he’s here today?”

“Astonishing,” Pidge deadpanned. She wanted to be anywhere else right now.

“Oh, speak of the devil!” Dr. Smythe cheered. “I was just telling Dr. Holt here that she should make an appointment with you, Lotor.”

“You’re as tactful as ever, Uncle. I thought you were supposed to have taken a seminar or two on bedside manner.”

Dr. Smythe scoffed and Pidge buried her face in her hands. This day could not get any worse.

“Bedside manners are for the dying. Miss Dr. Holt is physically fit as a fiddle—”

“Does that mean I can go now?”

“—but this is the fourth time in seven years she’s been in here for dehydration, and—”

“I’m well aware of that, Uncle,” Lotor said stiffly. “May I remind you, however, of confidentiality agreements? As far as I’m aware the patient in question has not given you permission to discuss her case with me, or vice versa. May I have a moment to speak with Dr. Holt? Alone.”

Dr. Smythe slipped out of the room without another word.

“Me, too?” Pidge’s mother asked.

“If Katarina doesn’t mind, that would be easier.” The both looked to Pidge and she shrugged. “Thank you, Colleen,” Lotor called as she slipped back out into the hallway.

“I’m sorry,” he said to Pidge, gesturing to the seat by her bed. “May I sit?”

“Go ahead.”

He sat and sighed. “I ran into your mother in the coffee shop downstairs. I returned her greeting and the next thing I knew I was being hauled into the elevator and she was showing me pictures of Hinata and telling me about your fiasco of a weekend.” He paused and caught Pidge’s gaze. “Does she know you haven’t kept an appointment with me in five years?”

Pidge shook her head. “I don’t think so. At least, I haven’t told her. It’s nothing against you, personally, by the way,” she said, crossing her arms and looking away. “Therapy just wasn’t doing anything for me.”

“Can I be brutally honest with you for a moment?”

“I thought brutal honesty was a job requirement for you guys.”

He chuckled. “I generally am much gentler, but Katarina, you weren’t ready for therapy when I last saw you in my office. You might be now, if you’re ready to try again.”

“That child deserves an aunt who can love her without fear!” Dr. Smythe called through the door.

“Coran!” Lotor snapped before he pressed his face into his palm. “I’m sorry for my uncle. I swear he means well, and he’s a brilliant doctor. He’s just…not very tactful. Or professional.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Pidge said, studying her knees through the sheet. “He’s not wrong, though. Is he. Hinata deserves never have to witness me break down like that again. I’m sure she was so confused and upset…”

Lotor frowned and took her hand carefully. “You deserve that, too, Katarina. You deserve to heal and move on and to be able to love her with your whole heart.”

“But it was my fault,” she whispered. “Every bit of it was my fault. I saw the signs and still I stayed. I knew he wasn’t going to change but I _stayed_.”

“You were manipulated around and round in circles until you didn’t trust yourself to know left from right,” he said firmly. “ _None_ of it was your fault. He is the only one to blame, Katarina.” He let go of her hand and reached into his pocket, producing a pen and a business card. He scribbled something on the back and then offered it to her. “Call my office for an appointment when you’re ready. My personal cell is on the back, should you need to talk after hours.”

“I can’t call you on personal time!” she squeaked.

Lotor chuckled. “Please call me on personal time. I have no life.”

“What? How?”

“I’m kidding, Katarina, but my family is used to it. And I always make it up to them later when I need to take a call.”

“Oh. Alright…” She accepted the card and he stood.

“I should get going. I’ll send your mother back in and get you discharged, alright?”

“Thank you,” she muttered, thinking hard.

She’d been told it wasn’t her fault so many times that the words had lost their meaning. But maybe this time would be different.

 

* * *

 

 

Pidge was frustrated with the requests her parents made after she was discharged, but she couldn’t say she was terribly surprised.

First, they didn’t want her to drive if at all possible, because during her last episode she’d nearly wrapped her car around a tree. She couldn’t fault them for worrying about that. Keith and Hunk had already volunteered to take turns getting her to class.

Second, they would appreciate it if she stayed with them at home for a week or so and rode to the Garrison with her dad. That made economic sense, considering he’d be using less gas than if he were to go back to her apartment to get her in the mornings. And besides, she’d missed her dad while he’d been in space. She’d kind of been planning to stay home for a few days anyway.

Finally, they wanted her to go back to therapy. She should’ve known they’d already realized she hadn’t been going. Her intelligence hadn’t come from nowhere after all.

Pidge didn’t want to agree with any of those requests—she lived on her own for a reason—but she had to admit that she didn’t really want to be alone right now any more than they wanted it. She almost suggested she could stay with Keith, but they’d only just truly mended fences. And he had a roommate. She might’ve offered the same compromise concerning Hunk and Shay, but the less she knew about her friends’ sex life the better. So she settled back into her childhood room. She’d never stopped keeping clothes here, so at least she didn’t have to worry about that. And her school stuff and work ID badge usually stayed in her car, so at least she wouldn’t have to go back home for…that…

_Uh oh._

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, Keith?” Lance called as he let himself into the apartment Monday afternoon. He'd been dragging for hours and was ready for a nap, but Keith was the one laying face-down on the couch for once. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the night before,  and that weighed heavily on Lance's mind as he made a beeline for his bed.

“Yeah?”

“Have you heard from Pidge?”

“Uh…no I haven’t. Why?”

“Well, her car is still at Arus. The principal was going to have it towed but I talked him down…He still wants it gone by morning.”

Keith groaned. “You have her number. Why can’t you call her?”

“Phone’s dead.” Lance leaned against the wall beside his door and closed his eyes. “Forgot to plug it up when we got in this morning.”

Keith sighed and shifted. “I’m dialing, okay? Go plug up your phone.”

Lance stumbled into his room and fumbled for the cable. He vaguely heard Keith talking from the other room while his phone booted up, but he didn’t have the presence of mind to care about anything, much less what his roommate was saying. Until his newly revived cell phone informed him he had two missed calls and a few text messages, most of them from Pidge.

 

3:15pm

Oh God. I just realized I left my car at Arus. Can you and Keith bring it here later? Long story but I shouldn’t be driving right now.

 

3:17pm

Shit. Keys. So you’ll have to come here first. Dinner is on me, okay?

 

3:30pm

Thank you for trying to check up on me yesterday.

And for going with Keith to look for me.

I’m sorry for inconveniencing you both. It won’t happen again.

 

3:31pm

Me running away, I mean.

 

3:45pm

I’ll leave you alone now. Maybe Matt and Takashi can get my car.

4:50pm

Don’t be sorry, Pidge. You’re not an inconvenience. I’m just glad you’re safe.

I’d be glad to help with your car but I think I need a nap first.

Phone was dead. Just got home. Sorry. ^^’

 

Lance dropped his phone and flopped on his bed, groaning. He couldn’t believe he left those messages waiting so long, even if it was a perfectly normal, human mistake to make.

His phone buzzed just as Keith knocked the door open with his shoulder and threw Lance’s jacket at him.

“Come on, loser. We’re going shopping.”

Lance didn’t even have the energy to appreciate the reference.

“Can’t I take a nap first?”

“No. Mama Holt has been stress baking and she needs our help.”

“What?”

“She made too much.”

“Oh…but I’m too tired to drive,” Lance whined.

Keith sighed. “Fine. But set an alarm, alright?”

Lance grunted an affirmative and reached for his phone.

 

4:45pm

Thanks, Lance. You’re a good friend.

I just talked to Keith.

Dinner is on my mom. She just made a few million cookies and now I think she’s planning a four course dinner. ^^’

I hope you had a light lunch!

 

Lance smiled and typed a reply. He wasn’t actually sure he _could_ nap, but he sat an alarm for 6:30 anyway. Some rest would still do him a world of good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you have seen Season 6, then you may be wondering why I chose to keep Lotor as Pidge's therapist. There are a few reasons for that. To preface, in no way do I think that Lotor is a hero. He wants to be, but he never will be. I don't think he's done yet. I think he'll get to redeem himself like Darth Vader before he actually dies and it'll be even more tragic. He'll be remembered for doing a little bit of good alongside a whole lot of bad.
> 
> Reasons I kept Lotor as the therapist:  
> 1) I just really want them to be friends, okay? I think it would do Lotor some good to have a kid sister/tiny Paladin friend.  
> 2) I don't believe that Lotor has ever lied to Team Voltron. Was Allura right to suplex him? Yes. He was willing to sacrifice too much to get to the Quintessence field.  
> 3) I don't believe that Lotor did what he did with sacrificing members of the Altean colony because he wanted to. We've known from the beginning that he is a morally gray character and that there are lines he's willing to cross for the sake of the universe. He truly believed that by sacrificing a number of Alteans he could bring the universe to peace that much sooner.  
> 4) When Lotor felt he had options and resources other than harvesting quintessence from the Altean Colonists, he used them. He always preferred other methods. And he was in a hurry to get to the quintessence field so that he could STOP harvesting quintessence. He should never have started it in the first place. It should have been too high a cost. But he's nearly 10,000 years old. He's going to be at least a little bit insane.
> 
> 5) I really and truly believe that if Lotor had grown up in a loving home that wasn't "Victory or Death," he would have been a decent person, most likely an anthropologist and very into nerd culture. In this fic he didn't start out in a loving home, but he got that kind of atmosphere a heck of a lot sooner than he ever did in canon, so he's using his experience to try and help others. 
> 
> And there are my reasons. I can't think of any others, but if I do I'll be sure to let you guys know. Cry with me over Season 6 in the comments or on tumblr (where I use the same username. *hint hint*)! Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Make sure you subscribe for updates, and consider a user subscription if you want to see my subsequent pieces for Plance AU Week! Leave me a comment down below! They motivate me to write faster! <3


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